2001: A Link Odyssey

Our first link was e-mailed to me by Madison’s mother, and it is an audio webcast of a program titled “Under-recognized Complications of Adult Congenital Heart Disease”. Be patient, the site takes a moment to load, but when it does you can choose to download the file as a MP3, listen to it as streaming audio, or request a transcript. This is worth hearing as preparation for when your Cardiac Kid grows up! After all, 90% of children having heart surgery today will survive to adulthood, so you might as well be ready!

In an e-mail I received earlier this week, Adult Congenital Heart Association (ACHA) President Amy Verstappen said that the “standard number” of new Congenital Heart Defects cases each year is 1 in 120. The number is based on birth incidence, and since not every Heart Defect is caught at birth, that number may be a little low. But 1 in 120 is a good starting point.